Electronic documents such are used to store data such as text and images in computer systems. The data in a file can be stored on a storage medium such as a disk, flash memory, random-access memory, or the like. Users can write notes in computer software applications such as text editors, word processors, note-taking applications, reminder applications, and the like. The notes are ordinarily represented as unstructured, free-form text, and can also include graphics images, and/or other types of media objects such as video and audio data interspersed with or attached to the text. Notes can be stored in files, with the notes application providing a simplified interface to editing files, in which notes are presented to the user as text documents that need not be explicitly saved or loaded in files, as the notes application performs file saving and loading operations. A user can enter content for notes using input devices such as a keyboard, speech recognition, and so on, without restrictions on the format of the entered text. Thus, the notes application does not perform any substantial processing or interpretation of the contents of the note, beyond general processing such as font formatting and making the text available for searching. Thus, computer-based notes applications are similar to paper notebooks, with the notes being stored on the computer instead of on paper.